Flying for Turkey Day

Well Thanksgiving is almost upon us and that means that with it comes the manic mayhem of holiday travel. Given all the problems that have been cropping up with air travel these days you would think that most people would avoid the airports this holiday season but that is not the case. Despite rising costs, dropping service, overbookings, increased security, decreased fuel on-board, longer lines and shorter frills, surveys find that record numbers of travellers are going to be on the road or in the air this year for Thanksgiving. Still, it isn't as if people aren't trying to help.

President Bush announced yesterday that he realizes that delays in air travel are becoming more frequent and that as president, he and the government are supposed to do something about it. Well, yesterday he announced that he is requesting the Pentagon to open normally closed military air traffic routes to airlines in an effort to reduce delays in transit. That's great! What a wonderful idea! Airspace that would otherwise be used at a far lesser rate than the normal traffic routes will be available. In road driving terms you can say that in addition to the highway, you are now using parallel running side streets as well. It's a momumental step seeing as how part of the problem with air travel these days is the fact that the skies are jammed with planes.

Still, that's not the only problem. Nor is it very likely to be cause for celebration as the end-all-be-all solution to the problem. On the contrary, it's more likely to cause many more. One of the major issues that airlines have long contended with are delays at the airports themselves. With so many airlines competing for gates that are limited in quantity, you are hard pressed to get the full service that you once enjoyed. If we as passengers are starving these days for lack of service, it's because airlines are also having to shell out for more room at airports. When an airline flies a flight to a destination, they have to pay to rent the space, the crew that loads and unloads the bags, fuel, etc. as well as the time they spend on the ground at the airport since that is ground that would otherwise be occupied by other airlines.

Therein is one of the major problems. If you don't increase the number of ground personnel (both planeside and airport-side) all you're doing is playing musical chairs with few seats to begin with but then adding more players every few minutes while keeping the number of chairs the same. So even if a plane has smooth sailing to and from their destination, after they get to the airport you are stuck waiting to get your bags, get a taxi, get to your car and just go home. And the problems just aren't on the arrivals side, the departure side has it's share of problems too. Changes in security requirements every so often mean confusion and angry fliers who still don't understand that no liquids in containers over 8 ounces does include the 20 ounce drink you're attempting to bring through security. On a side note, just a comment for people who like to plead ignorance to these rules and ask for an exception. You are only acting like an ass and further delaying the rest of us trying to get through security, toss the bottle and remember to purchase it after you pass through security the next time.

Anyways, beside security, the check-in for airlines is just as bad. With few actual ground personnel working limited numbers of desks they are hard pressed to check-in dozens of fliers bound for dozens of different destinations. We're told by various sources to get to the airport early. But how early can you get there? Some airlines won't check you in until a few hours before your flight but if you get there too close to that start time you end up spending most of that time waiting in line to check in bags and even more time waiting in security lines. Then there's always the possibility of being bumped off of your flight in favor of someone else; a common enough practice these days.

The government is attempting to step in and force change by increasing the 'payback' passengers get after being bumped by an airline. I mean I've paid for my ticket just like the next guy. Most people plan accordingly and if their flight is delayed by a day because of overbooking, all those plans are thrown out of whack. What do you do then? While these efforts to increase compensation or increase airspace for flights to travel certainly seem like efforts in the right direction, they are just what they sound like. Hot air. Until airports grow in size and capacity, until ground crew unions get additional help and until our paranoia over super-security (which still fails tests to detect bomb components) dies down, we're going to be waiting to get to our destinations for a long time.